That is the title of a great post by the late “iMonk” (Michael Spencer) who recently lost his battle with cancer. Or perhaps to say it another way, finally has total victory over sin, as he stands in the presence of God.
At any rate, I think this is an excellent article, and one that people like me need to read, and live by. Not to say that we shouldn’t be bold, and preach the hard truths of the Gospel unashamedly, but that we should be careful about what hills we are willing to die on. And also, we need to be constantly checking our motives to make sure that the reasons we are fighting are pure–that our heart is something other than just wanting intellectual or spiritual dominance.
I don’t know a whole lot about Spencer, and I haven’t really ever read much of his blog before, but I think after reading this article I’m going to have to go back and peruse his archives. He speaks with both wisdom and clarity, and seems to have a clear understanding of what is important (and what is not).
I may have to peruse his archives, myself!
Thanks for the article post, man. A similar idea has been percolating (or something like that) in the back of my mind for a few weeks, and it’s great to read what someone who knows what they’re talking about has to say on the subject of Theological one-up-man-ship. I’ve been mentally struggling with the idea that having so many denominations is warranted, and that, if Christians can’t at least reconcile/get over/agree to disagree on some of their theological issues, how can we say we are saved by faith, not works? Anyway, again, this post was really helpful on the subject and I will be reading more of this guy’s stuff.
I just want to clarify: I think the whole “let’s not be so worked up about theology” often gets taken overboard, and ends up leading to a “doctrine doesn’t matter, it’s just about ‘loving people’” type attitude. Which I think is very dangerous, for many reasons, which would make a post in and of themselves.
As to what he said about denominations, I think they are good. There are certain differences which we should be able to still love and respect our brothers in spite of, but that doesn’t mean we should worship together and serve in the same ministries. But that also is another post.
I think the one thing to remember while reading his post is that this guy loved theology and doctrine, and he knew/debated it well (from all that I’ve seen). So his post was not a “screw theological discussion, let’s be the real church” rant–in fact such an attitude is just another manifestation of what he was writing against.
Not that I think that’s how you read it, Zach, but I wanted to clarify.
I loved the iMonk while he was here. I identified with him a lot, I think. Or his writing was so human that it made me believe I identified with him.
I remember first reading him around the time the Thinklings got started, back in 2003, where blogs weren’t as big as they are today. He and my dad used to butt heads back in the day. I don’t remember any real theological disputes – they had more to do with tone/emphasis. I was 14 then, and I didn’t understand him the way I do now, but I liked him, and read him often.
Spencer did love theology, but anyone who is familiar with the early days of the Christian blogosphere knows how stupid and damaging many of the theological “debates” were. He got a lot of unfair criticism (some of it was downright vitriolic). I remember one dispute where a group of Christian bloggers really went after him, and my dad came to his defense. The bloggers went on to attack my dad for his use of the word “crap”.
I don’t love theology. I think it’s important, but I don’t love it. Spencer loved it more than I did, and he certainly was more willing to wade into those discussions. But I noticed that over the years, he began distancing himself from theological discussions and his writing became more confessional and more Jesus-centered (for clarification, I’m not trying to draw a line between theology and Jesus). I can’t remember the last time I read him criticize another blogger or pastor over theology. He attacked evangelical culture a lot, but that was a different game.
I’m glad he’s now where he always wanted to be.
Sorry for hijacking the comment section with my sorry little tribute to the man, but I couldn’t help it.